Two Wheeling

LX has taken over the balance bike full time:

When little ones start out learning balance, moving to a pedal bike is a quick to master skill. MissC has her bike and, at 4 years old, can ride it herself.

Adventure in San Fran!

Ben wasn't feeling well this morning. I wanted to let him rest and have some peace and quiet. So, after piano lessons, I drove up to San Francisco. And it only cost $430.50 to get my car back! Plus the parking fine.

There's a bike shop up there I'd been meaning to visit for a long while, My Dutch Bike.

A bicycle built for four:




Simple, right? Drive to the city, find a garage or meter, slice a vein for the fee, go to the shop.

Another bike that can carry three:




The shop was nice. I had the children look at magazines while I tried out the Bakfiets . Try one. Seriously. It took me a couple minutes to be comfortable with the length and steering, then it seemed so natural!



Then LX and MissC got to ride along. Hooboy, did he howl! He's not used to being ahead of me, so it may have been more like a roller coaster to him. Once he stopped screaming, he started calling out , "Oh, no!" each time we neared someone or as I cornered. Back at the shop, he scrambled out as soon as his seatbelt was off. MissC, on the other hand, didn't want to leave!





The children raced on Kinder Feets.




Then we walked back to where we parked. And kept going to check if we'd parked on the next street... And crossed one more for good measure when we came across a traffic cop.

So, yellow on a meter means delivery only. Don't park by yellow meters in San Fran.

The officer suggested we head over and take the 14 bus to the impound. Only, I was flanked by five children, so the bus had left moments before by the time we found the right stop.





We kept walking. I had checked my phone when talking to the officer and the impound was 1.7 miles away. The children have covered that distance before, but I kept updating my phone to see if I could hop on a bus.






I gave MissA the camera, TJ pushed the stroller with sleeping LX, and the younger girls held my hands.

The gal at the impound was sweet, complementing the well-behaved children. My tired children.

Pedal Date

Yesterday, I asked Ben if he'd like to bicycle to the county park with me.

Today, we took a ride! (yes, I'm having helmet issues; apparently if you fit one to your head, then the helmet doesn't later fit over pigtails) We rode up to the county park (2.5 miles). When we arrived, we strapped the baby's helmet up so he wouldn't be asphyxiated while sleep-riding, then Ben wanted to explore along the trail (which goes all the way from downtown along the river to the next city outside the valley) and complete our ride home on surface streets.

We rode a modest 2.9 miles to the lot we normally park for walking the trail. The trail was nice, we'd actually walked most of it not knowing the park was just that extra bit further. We refilled the water bottle at the trail head & took to the streets. The last 3.7 miles went well, and the baby was stirring, so we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

When we got home, I made Mega Cheesyburgers (from Saving Dinner) again, with Lebanese Carrot Sticks (the New Preserves book). Satisfying!

Bucket Bikes

I love the idea of using my bike as a mode of transportation, not just an exercise machine. The weird clothes and sweat just don't seem necessary for being on a bike. But, with 5 children to get around, what's the best solution?
I've been looking into bicycling accessories for a while. Most recently, I've had a bike trailer, but it's aging - the safety strap broke, the connector arm is somewhat bent. The older 3 children can go about 3 miles without too much complaint, but MissC isn't on a pedal bike yet & LG is just too little.

With the loss of the trailer, we're only taking short rides to the store. I'd like to ride to that park, but I'm not sure MissC could even make the library comfortably.

We'll probably get another bike trailer, but what I think would be fabulous to get is a bucket bike. The Dutch have just about perfected the art of delivery bikes. The only distributor I knew of in the states is in Chicago: http://www.defietsfabriek-usa.com/
Ah, to be able to test ride one!

But, perhaps.. http://www.mydutchbike.com/about/ I'll have to stop by & see if I can or if they just order them in from abroad..

Library Issues

I'm terrible about going to the library. At our local library, there are computers with baby games central to the children's section. Surrounding that are "early readers" that seem to have more about magic and witchcraft than much else. It's certainly hard to find history books that don't have children using magic to be in history instead of stories about people (including children) of those times.

I'm leaning more & more to library trips on piano lesson days, but that means the older children, who really need to learn to use the library, would miss out. I'd use that 2 hours to walk to that library, check out the books & walk back.

The other option, which will be more difficult for me, would be to go to the different branches myself and pick one I find the books more accessible, then start taking the children. Maybe on bikes.

This is certainly a learning curve for me.

Simplify

The bike trailer was disrobed. The frame now holds a boogy board and a child-sized beach chair. The children have been taking turns pushing each other around and right now MissA is using it as a wheelchair.

I unplugged the TV last weekend. TJ figured out there was a plug missing, but couldn't reach it to plug it back in. There has been a surge in outside play and art - MissB is getting incredibly good at drawing Frodo Baggypants!

A couple years ago, my MIL had suggested that I put the sewing away so I could focus on the children better. I'm naturally very slow to adapt, so it was a long time coming. This last Christmas (2009), I decided it was time. I've been piling the donations up, then pulling them back in to work on things, piling donations, pulling back in..

I'd still like to make their clothes, but it needs to wait for now. I have to focus my efforts to school them and get my own schooling done. I have about 1/10 of the modules sent in and about half of them in some state of work. I've found it quite difficult to study at home, so my Saturdays at the coffee shop are indispensable.

The next frustration I ran into was schooling the children. I had collected a great horde of textbooks and workbooks and supplies, Oh My! Would this turn out to be harder to declutter? Yes and no. I know where I'd like to go with some components of home school, but not with others. I'd like all my teacher books to fit in one case so we can easily take school along with us.

We invested, though that's hardly the best word as the program is inexpensive, in SWR. So, now the old phonics books and stacks of spelling workbooks that we've hardly touched can find a new home.

History and science are a little harder right now. With practice, I'll get better at this, but I'm currently not the greatest history or science teacher. I'm loving my Apologia texts, so we'll keep with those. History, though.. I've still got to figure out. I've got random children's history books lying about. I have the Veritas History (2nd grade only, at this point) & I love the cards, but the books drive me a little batty. I'm going to stick to it for now, see if we can make some headway once our school schedule is started. I know the library might be the answer, but I don't really like the local branch. I'll probably, eventually, go through the adult history sections in bookstores and have some chronology that way. We'll see. For now, it is as it is.

Set Up

The nuts & bolts were in a bucket on the shelf near where I'd left them (thank you, Susan!) and I was able to get the rack back onto my bike pretty quick. I'd taken the rack off when my sister returned my purple -much lighter- bike, but the mounting holes on the purple bike didn't work with the rack set.

Instead of getting to ride the lighter bike, I switched the improvements from it onto the bike I've been riding. Now I have a saddle cushion, pump, and quick releases on the front wheel and seat. It could use a good cleaning still, lights, and maybe new brakes, but all in all I'm satisfied it'll work.

The trailer, on the other hand, has a broken safety strap. I don't want to risk my babies if the join goes, too. It might be fun to convert it to a hard trailer so we can trail it behind Ben or TJ and take picnicking supplies with us for a day out. For short rides, MissC could ride her balance bike & Little Guy use the seat on my bike.

Balanced

It was one of those days.

The plane was late coming in last night, so Ben and I went to bed quite late. This morning, TJ and MissA had piano lessons so we had to get up early. No one could find MissA's glasses. Just as we were about to go, some little person had to go.. Then we were all finally in the car, driving, and I asked the pianists to check their written work, and the one asked where the books were.. Back home we drove for books.

We dropped them at lessons, dropped Ben at the closest train station, and headed to the park. I'd forgotten Little Guy's shoes and fresh diaper (so thankful he's beginning to let me know when he needs to potty).

Everyone was hungry when lessons were over. LG fell asleep on the way home, so I lay down to nurse him and TJ made lunch (grilled cheese, yum!).

After lunch, we headed to the garage. My intention was to reattach the rack onto my bike to carry the baby seat. I inflated bike tires on all the children's bikes, but am at a loss as to where the nuts and bolts went (they were on the shelf). That's when TJ brought me MissA's glasses.

So much for bolts. I called the optometrist to see if they had an opening, and they said to come on over. We ordered her a new pair, and ordered a part for my broken glasses, too (the hinge broke, they ordered a new "temple" -ear piece).

Barely five minutes after we got in, the neighbor came to see if the children could play. I heard the doorbell, but one of them answered and I found the door open and the babies out front. I sent them in for it.

Everyone was hungry. Again. MissB requested pasta. I started the water to boil and pulled out the pasta. No sauce. No meatballs. TJ had used all the mozzarella for lunch (& it was good, though I did let him know I usually use the jack or cheddar for grilled cheese & the mozzarella fir things like pasta or pizzas), and there was just a tiny bit of Colby Jack and a scant 1/8 cup Parmesan left.

I set a saucepan on medium heat, diced an onion & melted some butter. Onion dumped in pan. My neighbor had recently given us some little tomatoes and there were two larger ones & half a cucumber left from sandwiches Sunday. I diced these and dropped them as I finished each into the saucepan, stirring once in a while. The pan smelled like boiling vegetables - not particularly tempting to me! Spice cabinet: what would smell good? Thinking spaghetti sauce, I added a bit of the Italian seasonings, could have been basil, marjoram, oregano, and the last bit of thyme, some salt & pepper, and then a hint of turmeric. Finally, good aroma! When the pasta was done, I added a splash of the pasta water to the sauce & drained the noodles. The Parmesan and some olive oil went on the pasta & the little two ate that while the sauce cooked down another few minutes.

The kids really liked it. TJ had 4 bowls! Ben liked it, too. Everyone had a cookie & a piece of taffy that Ben had brought from New York.

After dinner, MissA went to the garage to assist Daddy so she could start paying, in labor, for her replacement glasses. I took LG for a walk & came back to find one of the grape trellises finished & the second half done, MissB entertaining MissC with a tea party & TJ practicing standing while riding the balance bike.

When they finished up, I invited them for ice cream. Strawberry, chocolate mint, and vanilla were on hand. Toppings were peanuts, chocolate Magic Shell, and maraschino cherries. A nice finish for my day.

Learn to Ride

I bought a "balance bike" for the girls a few months ago. I like the concept: instead of training wheels, start off with a bike with 2 wheels without pedals. The child learns all about balance and later just needs to learn the pedals. In our case, the pedals can be learned separately (we had training wheels on the smaller bike, and the neighborhood children have them), then the two skills can be meshed.

MissA loves the balance bike, but is getting too big for it. She can get going and coast for at least 30 feet. So, with the start of summer upon us, I decided it was time.

Yesterday, Ben had a long afternoon with MissA helping her overcome her fears. They and the bike disappeared for a couple hours -he said he had to remove her from her comfort zone to help her focus- and they came back, panting and sweaty, to announce that she loves me more.

Today, they went out for maybe an hour. And when they came back, she was riding the bike without help. Exuberant and proud of her mighty accomplishment. Thursdays' ride to the library should be a piece of cake (let's make it so by riding a little each day to keep up the new skill).

Finished Class 1

It's been a while since I posted - a month today! I've been busy with class these last couple months and today was the end of the beginning class. Next month is advanced class - hands-on workshop, really.

I've been getting up early with TJ for homeschool. I can concentrate better in the morning (especially if I actually slept, so I'm going to bed after this post), and we actually get schoolwork done. I'm going to have to set little goals through the year to get work done on a good schedule! Especially as I'm adding MissA to 'regular' school -she'll be in first grade. He only has two more weeks (4 days) left of his co-op classes! This semester has just flown by!

I bought a baby seat for my bike this week. Tonight, TJ and I rode over to the store and I used the seat for the groceries to practice the high center of gravity. It worked out fine and the 2 minutes to the store really flew. Usually, we walk over there and it's more like 10-20 minutes (even when they roll down the little grassy knolls). It was nice to have that little bit of freedom - light breeze, powered by me, blood flowing, so much nicer than being cooped up in the car or super slow walking to the store! I'm looking forward to riding the bike to the library on Thursday!

We're looking forward to a visit from the children's Grandparent's and Uncle in early June! I'm finishing off tasks and trying to get the house in semi-order. It's refreshing to see the counter regularly again!

We've been having a lovely heat wave this week. Thursday it hit 103F near TJ's class. We went swimming when we got home. Friday the children and I went to the beach and left when we felt chilly there, it was only 101F when we got home. Saturday was a planned trip to Big Basin. Beautiful. Next time, I'm planning on going earlier (I prefer to hike in the morning or evening rather than midday). We were a little late and missed the group hike, but were able to enjoy a family hike. There's lots of campgrounds there, so we may try that later in the year.

I can't find most of my size 2 DPNs, something tells me the wee little one had a trash run with them (she's at that age where everything goes in the container, especially the garbage container!). I've started TJ's gloves on the size 2s, so I'm thinking I'm stuck buying more to finish the task!

The Challenge

Challenge: Eat NO sugar for one week.
Contestant: Me.
Reward: Bike.

Last night, I told Ben that I had turned down a cookie. No, seriously, I don't think I've ever turned down the first cookie. Sure, the fourth or fifth.. dozen.. Anyway, I was all proud of myself and he just looked at me. Then he says, "If you don't eat sugar for one week, I'll buy you the bike." (We're talking a seriously nice looking bike here) Then he looked thoughtful and continued, "And, if you don't eat sugar for two weeks, I'll get me that bike, too."